Hapag-Lloyd has published its final business figures for 2024. The operating result increased, while profit slipped slightly.
The figures are not surprising, as the preliminary results had already pointed in the right direction. Group EBITDA rose to $5 billion compared to $4.6 billion in the previous year. EBIT improved slightly compared to the previous year to $2.8 billion ($2.6 billion). The consolidated result fell by $0.2 billion to $2.6 billion, mainly due to lower interest income and higher tax expenses.
“We have achieved solid results in a challenging market environment,” says Rolf Habben Jansen, CEO of Hapag-Lloyd. The terminal business under the Hanseatic Global Terminals brand was further expanded and the largest newbuilding program in the history of the shipping company was launched. “We have worked hard to further improve processes, which will pay off in the coming years,” said Habben Jansen.
Hapag-Lloyd CEO Rolf Habben Jansen (© Jonas Walzberg)
Hapag-Lloyd transports more containers
In the liner shipping segment, the transport volume for 2024 increased by 4.7% to 12.5 million TEU (2023: 11.9 million TEU), while average freight rates remained stable at $1,492/TEU (2023: $1,500/TEU). Revenue increased accordingly to $20.3 billion (€18.8 billion).
Despite higher transportation expenses due to the necessary rerouting of ships around the Cape of Good Hope, EBITDA increased to $4.9 billion (€4.5 billion), while EBIT remained at the previous year’s level at $2.7 billion. At the beginning of February, Hapag-Lloyd launched the new “Gemini” alliance with Maersk in the East-West trade.
In the Terminal & Infrastructure segment, EBITDA improved to $151 million (€139 million) in the 2024 financial year – due in particular to several acquisitions in the course of the previous financial year. EBIT increased to $72 million (€66 million).
In light of this earnings performance, the Executive Board and Supervisory Board of Hapag-Lloyd AG will propose a dividend of €8.20 per share for the 2024 financial year to the Annual General Meeting – this corresponds to a total dividend payout of €1.4 billion.
For the 2025 financial year, the Executive Board expects Group EBITDA in the range of $2.5 to 4.0 billion and Group EBIT in the range of $0.0 to 1.5 billion. However, in view of the highly volatile development of freight rates and major geopolitical challenges, the forecast is subject to a high degree of uncertainty.
